Virtual Consumerism

Today I went hunting for a boot mat for my front hall. All my time here in the southern US, I have noticed that it is not common to remove your footing when entering a home. Growing up in Canada, you ALWAYS took off your footwear before leaving the front door and if you didn’t there would be mother’s wrath to pay. So I actually enjoyed not having to take off shoes here in the south but have come to realize that if my shoes were removed on a more regular basis, a lot less “deep cleaning” would be necessary every week.

This meant that my after-work activity today was driving around to find a front door mat for my shoes. I stopped by TJ Maxx and then drove another five minutes to Walmart and found nothing I wanted. In the Walmart parking lot, I opened the Amazon app on my iPhone and searched for “boot mats.” In seconds, the results returned and the fifth selection, at $7, had 4 1/2 stars. I selected the “1-click” option and purchased the mat which had “Prime” shipping so my new mat will be here in two days.

I contemplated, as I left the Walmart parking lot, the time I had lost commuting between stores, what gas I had spent and realized that virtual consumerism has it’s benefits. I know that people must think I’m an avid shopper as I regularly have Amazon packages showing up but the truth is, down to the short-grain brown rice I can not seem to locate at a single Kroger in town, I buy most of what I need on a weekly basis from Amazon.

Anyone else find their shopping habits might have been changed for good?

With virtual consumerism I always feel a bit ambivalent. It’s definitely convenient but I like supporting local shops. So if what I’m looking for is a “commodity”-type thing or usually sold in a chain store, I’ll get it on online. But I genuinely appreciate a unique local shop wherever I am with local flavor.